Island Princess Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We had a great time, the Canal is a great experience, all the crew was very sweet at the same time very polite. My first time with Princess and very happy about it.

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We very much enjoyed our cruise on the Island Princess. Probably would not take this one again, only because we've seen all that we'd care to see. We're older and not into ziplining and bobsledding through the jungle, or snorkeling. We've already booked into another for next year on the Crown Princess for the southeastern Caribbean.

There were three of us including our teenage daughter and we had a fabulous time. The ship is a little tired but overall was better than expected. We had a mini-suite which was perfect for 3 of us - anyone with a 15 year old will understand! 😂 We had anytime dining and had to wait 20-30 minutes most evenings for a table. We also tried reserving a table on the dine line first thing in the morning but it was impossible to get through. Food on the whole was very good but service could be a little slow on occasions. Production shows were excellent but we only saw one guest entertainer, the comedian, who we thought was awful however the older crowd seemed to like him. Ports of call were the main attraction for us and none of them disappointed.

Let me preface this by saying; We were cruising! A fun time regardless! We were fortunate to take such a nice vacation. Now, on with the nitty gritty; I wish we would have researched this ship more before booking. Believe the reviews when they say it's crowded. With the 2015 dry dock refurb, they added more cabins, took away a multi-use room, and did not account for the hundreds of added passengers. Finding a seat during peak times in the Horizon Court was near impossible. Tables were very close together, and the traffic pattern to exit was cramped. Traditional dining in the Province felt claustrophobic. Our dear waitstaff were always smiling and courteous, though you could tell they were overworked by the number of guests they had to serve. The crew brought out extra fold-out chairs to accommodate guests in the Explorers Lounge for their popular Marriage Match game. There are only two full sized pools on this crowded ship. Finding two deck chairs was a challenge. The first day, many areas of the ship smelled of sewage. Most of the problem odor was eradicated, but for the duration of the 10 day cruise, deck 5 aft and starboard still carried this putrid scent. I felt sorry for those in mobility scooters because in many areas of the ship you were required to open some very heavy doors (I struggled with the doors, and I'm in my 30's and healthy.) I don't know how they managed to get around. The layout of the ship was awkward. You cannot enjoy a book quietly in the library if the library is a high traffic walkthrough. The promenade does not go all the way around the ship. The gym and children's areas were tucked into the aft interior, lending no sweeping sea views. The spa was a high traffic walkthrough which offered no pool, unlike many ships in the Princess fleet. What saved our cruise were the staff. They were amazing, and just what you would expect from the Princess line. We especially loved our room stewart and our waitstaff at dinner. All were attentive and friendly.

I love it , it was very good cruise, no lines on the buffet either in the elevator.

The ship was decent, not great. The crew and service was top notch. The food and dining was also top notch. We were disappointed with the activities during the day and into evening. Example: napkin folding class. Yikes. That gives you an idea of the average age of fellow passengers, had to be 80+. The theater was too small to accommodate the needs as we had to go and secure seats 45 minutes early to be able to see shows. We missed two shows due to overcrowding. The Colon excursion was a nightmare. Wish we had not gotten off the ship there. This was our first Princess cruise and feel we will go back with Holland America next time.

Was a great cruise had a blast. Went to new ports that we had not cruised to. Ship exceeded our expectations.

Everything about the cruise was wonderful we loved it so much we signed up for another one and put down a deposit. we plan on going possibly to Alaska next year.

There should be an adults-only area on the ship. They let kids into the Lotus Pool area, where they run around yelling and getting in the hot tubs. Nowhere for adults to go and just relax other than their cabin.

Mostly it was about the food. The first few days at dinner I thought the cuts of meat were low grade especially the prime rib.

It’s a pity the shows in the theatre let the whole cruise down. The on board entertainers were ok, but the other stage acts were very very poor !

We loved the fact we were able to board in Vancouver and just take a nice leisurely sailing up the Pacific Coast line. The weather cooperated with us nice and the seas were calm so no missed ports or ill feeling passengers in our party. If you are looking for a relaxing get away and don't really want to do a lot then this could be your cruise. The ports had as little or as much as you would want to do.

Great ship and great service, but seriously bad food! We paid the $39 to dine at Sabatini’s and it was horrible. When I complained about the fishy soggy lobster tail, I was met with indifference and failed humor. We are loyal Princess cruisers at Elite level, but we are now rethinking for future cruises.

Very nice cruise and a great opportunity to visit some amazing US places.

Island Princess was fantastic - from the time they met us at Fairbanks Airport, their organization and scheduling was suberb with the luggage, transportation, hotels, embarkation & disembarkation was a breeze too. Staff were friendly and helpful. But please, please upgrade to softer toilet rolls!

Our Alaskan Adventure began with a 7 day land tour that included an overnight in Anchorage at the Captain Cook Hotel. From Anchorage we boarded a motor coach which took us on the Glen Allen HIghway to the Princess Copper River Lodge where we stayed for two nights. The lodge staff was very friendly and we enjoyed the stay. The excursions we had booked were cancelled due to issues on the part of the vendor so we enjoyed the Wrangells-St Elias National Park and the area surrounding the lodge. From there we got back on board the motor coach and headed for Fairbanks. We spent two nights at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. This lodge is more like a hotel than Copper River. We did the Riverboat Ride and Gold Dredge Tour. Both were good and informative. This was our second time in Fairbanks. Here we did see the Northern Lights from our room. From Fairbanks we headed back on our motor coach to Denali Princess Lodge. We had been here on our first trip and had done the bus ride into the park so we opted to walk around the lodge grounds and the shopping area across the highway. The pizza spot on the lodge grounds is good. From Denali we took the Alaska Railroad to Talkeetna where we enjoyed the Jet Boat tour and a short walk around town while we waited for the motor coach to take us to the McKinley Princess Lodge. The entire week we had lovely, clear skies and the mountains showed themselves the entire time. From McKinley we again boarded a motor coach for Whittier where we quickly embarked on to the Island Princess for our seven-day southbound cruise. We saw the Hubbard Glacier which we had not seen on our prior cruise which was a north bound. It was beautiful and amazing as everything in Alaska is. Our second day on board was spent in Glacier Bay where we got to see the John Hopkins Glacier which is not always possible. The naturalist on board are very informative and the days just glide by. Our third day was spent in Skagway where we took the narrow guage railroad into the Yukon. We were under the assumption we would be going all the way to Whitehorse but we got off the train in Fraser and onto another motor coach that took us to Carcross for lunch & shopping. It was not nearly what we had expected based on others comments. We have taken the Durango-Silverton train several times and this was not nearly as spectacular nor authenticly restored. These engines were diesel and the Durango train still uses the steam engines. However, we were enchanted again when we went to the Skagway Brewery for a beer and a snack before boarding the ship to leave for Juneau. In Juneau we did a whale watching trip on a research vessel which was extremely exciting. We saw 4 or 5 different humpback whales and worked with the staff to identify which whales they were based on their flukes. The trip was enjoyable because it was a limited sized group and no children under 12 were allowed. After a successful whale watching adventure, we boarded the ship and went on to Ketchikan the next day. In Ketchikan we went to the RainForest Sanctuary to hunt for bears. It was successful as well. We saw four or five different bears, pink salmon running, some eagles and also a carver of totems. We did a bit of shopping and boarded for our final sea day on the Island Princess. All in all, we had a great time and will probably go back to Alaska for a third adventure.

This was the 2nd part of our back to back cruise to Alaska so we were on our way home. My partner got sick on 2nd day. We told front desk that the hot water in our room took 10-12 minutes to get hot. There was no follow-up. About 2-3 days later we told again. Front desk followed up and at the time it seemed there was hot water so we said we’d check and let them know if there wasn’t any. The next day we realized we were still having to wait a long time so someone came down to room. My partner left room while they were working on it. Next morning we checked and waited 15 minutes and still no hot water it was barely luke warm so again went to front desk (3rd time). Finally by the last day of our cruise we got hot water again in about 1-2 minutes. Other than that ordeal we were very happy with the cruise.

Was enjoyable, fun, relaxing & entertaining. Could be as busy as we wanted or as relaxed as we wanted. The only problem was our hot water taking so long to get to our room.

All in all, a good cruise, however the ports all had the same shops. several gemstone stores next to several jewelry stores and the same Alaskan clothing store. icy straight (hunnah) was probably the exception in that regard. Clearly princess cruises is catering to a demographic that goes on cruises to spend money on jewelry. Unrelated item: I felt that a fee of $40 for the picture getting on ship was ridiculous. People spend 4 and 5 figures to take a cruise and you can't give them a complementary photo that is